They replied, "We met a man who told us, "Go back to the king who sent you and ask him, "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you're going to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you won't be getting up from that bed on which you're lying. You will most certainly die!"'"

They answered, "The man was a hairy fellow. He wore a leather sash around his waist." The king responded, "It's Elijah, that foreigner!"

After this, Jehoram ascended to the throne during the second year of the reign of Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram from Judah. He took the place of Ahaziah, who had no son. The rest of Ahaziah's activities are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

Elijah instructed Elisha, "Remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me as far as Bethel." But Elisha replied, "As the LORD lives, I'm not going to leave you while you're still alive!" So they both went on to Bethel.

When the Guild of Prophets who lived in Bethel came out to greet Elisha, they asked him, "You are aware, aren't you, that later today the LORD is going to remove your master from being your mentor?" "Of course I'm aware of it," he said. "Calm down."

Elijah also spoke to him, "Elisha, remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me to Jericho." But Elisha responded, "As the LORD lives, and while you're still alive, I'm not going to leave you!" So they went to Jericho.

But Elisha responded, "As the LORD lives, and while you're still alive, I'm not going to leave you!" So they went on their way, accompanied by 50 men from the Guild of Prophets, who stood at a short distance from them while they were both standing by the Jordan.

When they had crossed the Jordan River, Elijah invited Elisha, "Ask me what you want me to do for you before I'm taken away from you." So Elisha asked, "Please, may there be a double portion of your spirit upon me!"

As they continued on, talking as they went, suddenly chariots blazing with fire and pulled by fiery horses appeared, separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a wind storm to heaven!

As soon as the Guild of Prophets who lived adjacent to Jericho saw Elisha, they began to announce, "The spirit of Elijah is at rest on Elisha!" So they came out to meet him and they greeted him by bowing low to the ground in front of him.

Then they asked Elisha, "Look! We have 50 valiant men here with your servant! Please let them go out and search for your master Elijah. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up on a mountain or into a valley." Elisha responded, "Don't bother searching."

But they persisted until he was frustrated, so he said, "Send them out!" So they sent out the 50 men, and they looked around for three days but did not find Elijah.

By the time they returned, Elisha was living in Jericho. Then Elisha asked them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

The men who lived in the city addressed Elisha. "Look now," they said, "our city's location is good, as you have been observing, but the water springs here are bad and the land isn't sustaining crops."

Elisha ordered them, "Bring me a new bowl and put some salt in it." So they brought him what he had requested.

Later, Elisha left there to go up to Bethel, and as he was traveling along the road, some insignificant young men came from the city and started mocking him. They told him, "Get on up, baldy! Get on up, baldy!"

So they concluded, "This must be blood! The kings must have had one mighty big fight and each man killed the other! So let's go get the battle spoil, Moab!"

But when the Moabites arrived at the Israeli encampment, the Israelis got up and attacked them. The Moabites ran away from the Israelis, who followed them into the land as they continued their pursuit against Moab.

They destroyed their cities, and all of them threw stones onto every piece of farm land, ruining the fields. Then they filled in all the water wells and chopped down all of the useful trees. Stone walls remained surrounding Kir-hareseth only, until the archers surrounded and attacked that city.

So he took his firstborn son, whom he intended to reign after him, and offered him up as a burnt offering on the wall. There subsequently came great anger against Israel, so they abandoned the attack and returned to their homeland.

So she left Elisha, shut the door behind her and her children, and while they kept on bringing vessels to her, she kept on pouring oil.

When they served the men, they began to eat the stew. But they cried out, "That pot of stew is deadly, you man of God!" So they couldn't eat the stew.

But he replied, "Bring me some flour." He tossed it into the pot and said, "Serve the people so they can eat." Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Later on, a man arrived from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread as a first fruit offering. He had 20 loaves of barley and ripe ears of corn in his sack. So Elisha said, "Give them to the people so they can eat."

But he replied, "Distribute it to the people so they can eat, because this is what the LORD says: "They will eat and have a surplus!'" So he served them, and they ate and had some left over, just as the LORD had indicated.

But then his servants approached him and spoke with him. They said, "My father, had the prophet only asked of you something great, you would have done it, wouldn't you? Yet he told you, "Bathe, and be clean"!'"

But Naaman said, "Please accept my invitation to take two talents of silver." He urged him, binding two talents of silver in two bags, along with two sets of clothes. He placed them in the care of two of his young men, and they went on ahead of Gehazi.

When he arrived at the stronghold, Gehazi took the bags from their custody and hid them away in the house. Then he sent the men away and they left.

"I'm willing," he replied. So he accompanied them, and when they came to the Jordan River, they cut down some trees.

So the king of Aram sent out horses, chariots, and an elite force, and they arrived during the night and surrounded the city.

When they arrived in Samaria, Elisha asked the LORD, "Enable them to see again." So the LORD did so, and there they were right in the middle of Samaria!

But he replied, "No! You're not to kill them! Would you execute those whom you've taken captive at the point of a sword or with your bow? Give them food and water so they can eat and drink. Then send them back to their master!"

So he prepared a large festival for them, and when they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them back to their master, and marauding gangs of Arameans never came into the territory of Israel again.

When the king heard what the woman said, he ripped his garments as he continued walking along the city wall. As the people watched, all of a sudden they noticed he was wearing sackcloth underneath his clothes, inside next to his flesh!

Now there happened to be four lepers who were at that very moment at the entrance to the city gate. As they were talking with one another, they said, "Why are we sitting here waiting to die?

If we tell ourselves, "Let's remain in the city,' we'll die there since there's famine in the city. But if we sit here, we'll die, too. So let's go over to the Arameans! If they spare our lives, we'll live, and if they kill us"we're dying anyway!"

So they got up at dusk and went out to the Aramean encampment. But when they arrived at the outskirts of the Aramean encampment, there was no one there!

The LORD had made the Aramean army hear the sounds of chariots, horses, and a large army, so they told one another, "Look! The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the Egyptians to come attack us!"

So the Arameans got up and ran away in the gathering darkness. They left behind their tents, horses, and donkeys just as they were and fled for their lives!

When the lepers arrived at the outskirts of the encampment, they entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they carried off from there some silver, gold, and clothes, and went out and hid them. After this, they returned, entered another tent, raided it, and went and hid all of that, too!

But then they told each other, "We're not doing the right thing. This is a day of good news, but if we keep quiet until morning, we're sure to be punished! So let's leave and go tell the king's household!"

So they left, called out to the city gatekeepers, and reported to them: "We went out to the Aramean encampment, and there was nobody there! Not even the sound of men only horses and donkeys tied up, and tents left just as they were!"

so the king got up in the middle of the night and ordered his servants: "Let me explain what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we're hungry, so they've left their encampment to conceal themselves in the surrounding fields. They're telling themselves, "When they come out of the city, we'll capture them alive and enter the city!'"

So they took two chariots and horses, and the king sent them out after the Aramean army with the orders, "Go and look!"

They went out in the direction of the Jordan River, and the entire roadway was strewn with clothes and equipment that the Arameans had abandoned in their haste to leave! So the messengers returned and reported to the king.

The rest of the official acts of Joram, along with everything else that he did, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

"That's a lie!" they said. "Tell us what's going on!" "He said "This and that' to me," he responded. ""This is what the LORD says: "I have anointed you king over Israel."'"

Joram replied, "Let's begin our attack!" As soon as his chariot was prepared, both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to fight against Jehu. They met together in the property that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.

So they did, and her blood splashed against the wall and on the horses, while Jehu trampled her underfoot. Later on, after he had come in to eat and drink, he ordered, "Go and see to this cursed woman, and bury her, because she was a king's daughter."

But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing left of her except her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.

So they returned and reported to Jehu, and he responded, "This fulfills this message from the LORD that he spoke through his servant Elijah the foreigner, who said:

But they were too terrified, and so they told one another, "Look! Two previous kings couldn't stand up to Jehu, so how can we?"

When the messenger arrived to report to the king, he said, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons."

Jehu met up with the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We're Ahaziah's relatives, and we've come down to greet the king's sons and the sons of the queen mother."

And so they proclaimed it. Jehu sent the proclamation throughout Israel, and all the Baal worshipers came. There wasn't a single man left who failed to come. When they entered Baal's temple, it was filled from one end to the other.

Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Meanwhile, Jehu had stationed 80 men outside, ordering them, "If any of these men whom I've brought into your control escape, the one who allows it will forfeit his life."

As soon as he had completed the burnt offering, Jehu ordered the guards and the officers, "Go in and execute them. Don't let even one man escape." So they executed them with swords, and the guards and the officers threw the bodies out and proceeded into the inner room of Baal's temple,

from which they brought out the sacred pillars and burned them.

They also cut down the pillar to Baal, tore apart Baal's temple, and turned it into a latrine and it remains that way today.

Now as to the rest of Jehu's activities, including his valiant deeds, they are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

Then Jehu died, as did his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.

Then he brought out the king's son, put the royal crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and installed him as king. They anointed him, applauded, and said, "May the king live!"

So they arrested Athaliah, took her out through the same entrance used by the horses for entering the king's palace, and executed her.

Then Jehoiada entered into a covenant with the LORD, the king, and the people, that they would live as the LORD's people, and also entered into a covenant with the king and the people.

After this, everyone throughout the land rejoiced and the city was at peace, because they had executed Athaliah at the king's palace.

So the priests agreed to receive no more cash from the people, but they didn't repair the leaks in the Temple, either.

As a result, whenever they noticed that there was a lot of money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest went forward, put the money in bags, counted the money that had been given over to the LORD's Temple,

and disbursed the cash directly into the hands of those who did the work and who were in charge of the oversight of the LORD's Temple. They paid it to the carpenters and builders who worked on the LORD's Temple,

Furthermore, they required no accounting from the men into whose hand they had paid the money to do the work, because the workers acted in good faith.

Now the rest of the Joash's activities everything he did are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

Shimeath's son Jozacar and Shomer's son Jehozabad, his servants, attacked him and he died. They buried him alongside his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Amaziah became king to replace him.

The LORD provided Israel with a deliverer, so they escaped the Aramean oppression while the descendants of Israel lived in tents as they had formerly.

Nevertheless, they did not change course away from the sins of Jeroboam's household, by which he caused Israel to sin, but continued on that same course, with Asherah poles remaining in place in Samaria.

Now the rest of the activities of Jehoahaz, including everything he did and his grandeur, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

The rest of Joash's activities, including everything he did and the vehemence with which he fought against King Amaziah of Judah are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

One day while some Israelis were burying a man, they saw some marauders, so they threw the man into Elisha's grave. But when the man fell against Elisha's remains, he revived and rose to his feet.

The rest of Jehoash's activities that he undertook, including his valor in fighting King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

The rest of Amaziah's activities are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

The rest of Jeroboam's actions everything he did, including his powerful fighting and how on behalf of Israel he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

Now the rest of Azariah's activities, including everything he did, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

Later, Azariah died, as had his ancestors, and they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jotham then reigned in his place.

The rest of Shallum's activities, including the conspiracy that he carried out, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

At another time, Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all of its inhabitants, including its coastlands from Tirzah, because they would not open the city gate for him. After defeating them, he ripped open all of their pregnant women.

The rest of Menahem's activities, including everything that he did, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?

The rest of Jotham's activities, including everything that he accomplished, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

Later, King Rezin of Aram and Remaliah's son Pekah, king of Israel, approached Jerusalem to attack it. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him.

Then Ahaz removed the covered walkway for use on the Sabbath that they had built in the Temple. Because of the king of Assyria, he also removed the outside entrance from the LORD's Temple that had been built exclusively for the king.

Now the rest of Ahaz's activities are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not?

This happened because the Israelis had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt and from the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, because they were fearing other gods,

and because they were following the rules of the nations whom the LORD had expelled before the Israelis and that the kings of Israel had practiced.

The Israelis practiced secret things that were not right, offending the LORD their God. In addition, they built high places for use by all their towns, watchtowers, and fortified cities.

They set up pillars and Asherim on every high hill and in the shade of every green tree,

where they made offerings on all the high places, as did the nations whom the LORD had expelled before them. They also practiced other wickedness, provoking the LORD to become angry,

and they served idols, a practice that the LORD had warned them, "You are not to do this."

But they would not listen. Instead, they were stubborn, just like their ancestors had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God.

They rejected the LORD's statutes, the covenant that he had made with their ancestors, and his warnings that he gave them. They pursued meaninglessness and became meaningless themselves as they followed the lifestyles of the nations that surrounded them, a practice that the LORD had warned them not to do.

They abandoned all of the commands given by the LORD their God, crafted for themselves cast images of two calves, constructed an Asherah, worshipped all of the stars in heaven, and served Baal.

They passed their sons and daughters through fire, practiced divination, cast spells, and sold themselves to practice what the LORD considered to be evil, thereby provoking him.

But Judah, too, did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. Instead, they lived the lifestyle that Israel had chosen,

until the LORD removed Israel from his presence, just as he had warned through all of his prophets who served him. So Israel was carried off into exile from their own land into Assyria, where they remain to this day.